The Rogues
by Phoenixwrites101
Summary: "heroism isn't flashy. It's not how much you get others to serve you, it's how much you get to serve others." Phoenix isn't perfect, no hero is. And she was never really a hero, the history books just called her one. Would you like to know why? **disclaimer, the first few chapters are a bit rough but I promise you it gets better**
1. Prologue

Prologue

I laugh and unwrap my gifts. My mother and father laugh too and take pictures.

"Lori, look at the camera!" My mother says. I look and grin.

"To our princesses 13th birthday," my father says. He holds his hand out towards me.

"A dance, mil-lady?" My father asks. I laugh and take his hand. We dance around the yard, the mansion we live in looms in the distance. My mother laughs at us. She sits down to watch the dance.

Our mailman stops at the mailbox and places the mail in, he grins and waves to us. I watch as he drives away.

"Look, he dropped a piece of mail on the street." I say.

"Well go pick it up, then." My mother tells me. I do as she says. I break free from dancing with my father and run down the long lawn to the road. I pick up the parcel of mail.

"Mother it's just a piece of blank paper!" I call.

Then I heard tires screech and then my world went black.

-•-

Two years later, Mrs. Wilcox sat in the window of her home, watching the rain fall. She had nothing left. Her husband had wasted away and died, her daughter was gone, probably dead. All she had was a big house, millions of dollars, and no one to share it with. Mrs. Wilcox was startled out of her trance when the doorbell rang. She answered the door to find a police officer on her doorstep.

"I'm so sorry." The officer said. "We found her body this morning."

Once the officer was gone Mrs. Wilcox sat on the sofa to cry. She truly had nothing left.

-•-

The officer got into his car.

"Yeah I told her." He said into his phone.

"What? Of course she bought it. Didn't look twice at the fake badge." He said into the phone, again. He dug around the front seat for his toothpick. He found it under some muddy shoes, examined the toothpick, and put it in his mouth.

"Yeah. To the world, that girls dead." He said again. "Yeah you can let her join the others now."

He then started the car and drove away.


	2. Safe and Sound

CHAPTER ONE

I wake up for the first time in two years. I am lying on the floor of a cage, there are multiple empty cages next to mine. I try to sit up but wince, my back feels like it is on fire. I touch my back and try not to scream, all I can feel are feathers.

"Scary, isn't it?" A voice said. I turn around to see a girl, about my age, with brown hair that had silver gray spots, it was quite pretty.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I don't have a name," she says. "No one here does."

"There's more people here?" I ask.

"Yes. Maybe now that you're awake you can meet them."

I smile.

"What color are your eyes? Their really pretty." I say.

"Their amber, and thank you." She says with a smile.

"How about I call you Amber, then?" I ask. She nods and smiles widely.

We are interrupted by men in white lab coats as they unlock our cages and drag us out. I try to fight but I am clotted over the ear so I stop struggling. I am drug down hallways and through doors. The place I am in is huge. Finally we stop at a pair of large double doors. The men open a door and throw me in, locking the door behind me, leaving me behind.

I'm trying not to hyperventilate as I get up. I nearly loose my breathe as I turn around. I'm in a huge Gymnasium, kids and teenagers with wings are running and flying around in all directions. There is a giant glass dome in the middle of the ceiling and a foam pit below the dome. I start to walk forward but am knocked over.

"I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" A girl about my age with dark brown hair and dark skin leans over me. She has wings folded over her back, the wings look like a robins wings. A boy about the same age runs up behind her. He has light skin, brown hair, and black and white wings that could blend in with a birch tree trunk.

"Who are you?" I ask. The girl and boy look at each other.

"Well we don't really have names..." the boy says.

"We are happy to show you around though, since you are new." The girl says.

"Well how will you know I'm talking to you?" I ask. The boy and girl shrug.

"Does anyone here have names?" I ask. The girl shakes her head. I sigh and look around, watching the other kids walk, run, and fly.

"Y'all can fly?" I ask. The boy nods.

"How about we teach you how to fly, and you give us names." The boy says. The girl hits his arm but he ignores her.

"Deal." I say. The boy smiles. The girl looks expectant.

"Well..." I start, "maybe we can call you Birch." I say to the boy. The boy frowns, then relaxes.

"Birch." He says. Then he nods. I turn to the girl.

"Maybe Robin?" I ask. She nods happily.

"I've never had my own name before." She says. I smile. I turn around to look at the other kids again.

My eyes scan the crowd till they rest on a boy. The boy is tall, he has black hair and black wings. He has high cheek bones, his face is almost gaunt as he is very hollow cheeked. What is most striking about his appearance is his eyes, they are an electric dark green. I think he can feel me watching him because he turns his face. I almost jump as we make eye contact, and I quickly look away.

"So you ready?" Birch asks. I look at him.

"To fly, are you ready to learn to fly?" He asks again. I smile and nod.

"Ok well first you will want to..."

•••

I jump into the air and flap my wings, yet I fall again. It has been a week since I woke up and I still haven't been able to fly.

"It takes time." Birch says, but the catch in his voice tells me it shouldn't. I shrug and tell him I'm going to walk around. As I walk I notice a boy sitting alone in a corner, he's the exact opposite in appearance to the other boy I saw. This boy has curly blond hair that's brown at the roots, slightly rounded cheeks, blue eyes, and by looking at him, even though he sits, I can tell he is short. Yet this boy looks sad as he stares at floor. I start to walk towards him when a voice stops me.

"Don't bother. You can't help him." A girl says. I turn to look at her. She has unkept and knotted brownish blond hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. But the closer I look at her eyes I realize she has no pupils, she is blind.

"Do you usually stare at people, or are you just rude?" The girl snaps. I jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"That's what they said when they blinded me. Now, do you need something or are you just enjoying walking around like a mindless idiot?" She snaps. I shrug and turn away.

"Hey, uh, I heard you gave those two other kids names," the girl says. I turn around to look at her, she is fidgeting.

"I was wondering if you would, um, give me a name." She says as she looks at me. "I mean, I have a name, it's Isabella, but that was the old me, the uhh kid before this lab." She looks down. I pause and think.

"I can teach you to fight if you give me a name." She says. I smile and nod, then I remember that she is blind.

"It's ok, I can hear you nod." She says. I try to hide my shock, trying not to let it affect my voice.

"You can you hear me nod?" I repeat . She nods.

"I can hear the air. Since air is practically always in motion from the objects around and in the air I can tell where things are and I can hear the air part and move back as you nod." She says. Her voice hardens "Now about my name." She snaps. I almost jump and then I think. _What on earth can I call her?_ I think. Then I remember my favorite drink back at home. This girl wouldn't know... it could work. I could just change the spelling a bit.

"How about Izzy?" I ask. She smiles a simple, sweet smile. Then she frowns. "Meet me here tomorrow and I'll start your training." Izzy, snaps, then she walks off. I shrug and look back at the blond headed boy, he was gone. I sigh and keep walking. The people here are strange.


	3. I Know Places

CHAPTER 2

I yawn and stretch as I wake up, immediately regretting the action as my hand slams against the side of my cage.

"You okay?" Amber asks. I turn towards her cage and smile at her, giving her a thumbs up.

I jump in fright as the wolf-ish guards slam their paws into the door of my cage, opening it and dragging me out. I try to fight, screaming for help. One of the wolf-ish Erasers sticks me with a needle and I fall asleep.

-•-

The boy with the blond hair sits in the corner of the Gymnasium, just like he does everyday. Laughing teens pass him without a glance. Small children point and laugh at each other, finding the bright side of it all. But they weren't cursed with the gift of controlling the thing they hate, the thing they fear. The boy draws his knees up to his chest and keeps his hands tightly clasped, maybe that way he wont hurt anyone.

At midday he is taken out of the Gymnasium and brought to a large room with a sealed off water tank. The boy watches in dread as the Scientists unlatched the trap door down into the tank. Erasers shove the boy down the hatch and before the boy can react, they close him in. All air gone.

The boy floats to the bottom of the tank and tries to sleep. Oh how he hates water.

-•-

I wake up in a blank room. Everything is white, the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the chairs, and the table. The only non-white object in the room is a small tree branch, no longer than a foot. I get up off the floor and walk around the tiny room, exploring the multitude of chairs while stretching my sore and cramped legs. I am startled when a door on the far side of the room opens and multiple Scientists shuffle in. Some carry clipboards and other carry the parts for a camera. I watch as they set the camera up, placing it on a tall tripod and pointing the lens at the table with the branch.

"You, sit." One of the Scientists snaps, pointing at me. I reluctantly sit in a chair facing the table. Other scientists sit in other chairs around the room. One scientist is muttering to another, "Pyrokinesis...branch...boss...results..." are snippets of his muttering. Finally, he sits across from me.

"Lori Wilcox?" The man asks. I nod. "Not anymore." He snaps. "Now, set the branch on fire."

I stare at him. He motions to the branch, but I don't know what he wants. I neither have a match nor lighter nor flint stone to start a fire, only my bare hands. The man sighed loudly.

"Focus." He snaps. "Close your eyes." I close them. "Concentrate. Picture the branch in your mind. Now picture that branch on fire."

I do as he says, silence. Suddenly I feel a warmth and the crackling of a fire. My eyes open to see the branch on fire in front of me. I scream and jump out of my chair, running to the opposite side of the room. The man has a small look of pleasure and confidence.

"You can put it in its cage now. I'm done with it, I have what I need." The man says. He looks at me and then exit. Two Erasers come in and grab me, only then do I realize the man was talking about me.

-•-

The boy wakes up. He is still in the tank. The boy looks around and sighs, bubbles are pushed from his nose. He needs air soon, he can't stay under forever. The boy pushes off the bottom of the tank and swims to the top. He bangs on the trap door, hoping in vain that it will open for him. Finally the boy passes out from lack of oxygen, his air supply has run out. He floats to the bottom of the tank, Scientists and machines documenting his every move on the other side.

 **Authors note:** sorry the chapters have been on the short side, I'm working on getting them longer.

If you're enjoying the story so far I'd love some reviews.

Well, on with the story.


	4. Ain't it fun

**Authors note**

I hope short chapters don't bother y'all... I'm trying to make them longer.

Djkrazy6000 thanks for the review! It's nice to know someone's actually reading this story.

Well... more fun awaits.

CHAPTER 3

Izzy sighs and looks at the clock on the wall. The name-giving girl is late. Izzy looks at the clock one last time before walking away. If the name-giving girl didn't want to learn to fight, fine. It was her loss, not Izzy's.

-•-

"Do you understand what you have to do?" The Doctor asks his most recent creation.

"Yes." Comes the immediate answer. The Doctor smiles and writes on his clipboard.

"And you remember her physical description?" The Doctor asks.

"Yes." The Creation says.

"Good." The Doctor smiles, he is almost giddy with excitement. It was time for the real experiments to begin.

-•-

A few days later I am woken up by Erasers opening my cage door. I am pulled out and drug down the hallways till we reach the Gymnasium, which I am promptly thrown into.

Then I remembered my deal with Izzy. I run to the meeting place, hoping I am not too late. She is not there, but two young boys are. The boys are twins, about 8 years old with vibrant orange hair and freckles coating their faces. They see me and run towards me.

"Hi I'm twin number one, and we're gonna be friends!" One of the boys says.

"If we are to be friends then I can't call you that!" I protest. "How about I call you... Ollie. And I call your brother here, Woody."

The boys nod enthusiastically.

"If you're looking for Izzy, she's up in the Dome." Woody says. I thank him and walk to the foam pit. I look up in all directions to try and see Izzy, but I can't.

"You can't fly yet, can you?"

I turn around to see a tall, handsome boy, about my age, speaking to me. He has curly brown hair, sun tanned skin, and dimples. I look down, flustered.

"No I can't." I murmur.

"No worry. If you're looking for someone, I can help." The boy says. I look up and smile.

"Her name is Izzy." I say. He smiles.

"Wonderful. And what is your name?" He asks. I look down.

"Well it was Lori... but a scientist told me that Lori doesn't exist anymore." I say. The boy just smiles.

"'Tis no matter. I'm sure we'll find you a fitting name eventually." The boy says.

"Do you have a name?" I ask.

"Actually I do. I named myself Falcon." The boy says.

"That's a nice name Falcon." I say with a smile.

"Well, it's off to find your friend." Falcon says, then he jumps, spreads his wings and flys up into the Dome.

I smile and turn around, only to bump into someone.

I start to apologize, but when I see who it is, I'm frozen. It's the boy with black hair, the one who's eyes were an electric dark green.

"I wouldn't trust him if I were you." The boy says. I open my mouth to reply but the boy just walks away.

"Some manners." I mutter to myself.

-•-

Izzy sits with her face pressed against the thick glass of the Dome. She can't see the outside like the other kids can, she tries to not let that bother her.

"Are you Izzy?" A male voice says. Izzy turns.

"Depends. Who are you?"

"Falcon. The new girl is looking for you." The voice says. Izzy sighs. Maybe for once she could finally be useful.

-•-

The boy with blond hair awakens in his cage. At least there is no more water. He sighs and sits up in a hunched position. He is startled when food rattles into the food bowl on the inside of his cage. The boy, all of the experiments, were truly treated like dogs.

After eating the dry, crusty food, the boy curls up, his white-gray wings fold tightly against his back. Would he ever escape?

-•-

One month later I am taken out of my cage. The Erasers drag me down the hallways but for once, I do not care. I flew yesterday, and I beat Izzy in a fight. I truly am toughening myself up to the dogs who are doing this to me.

The Erasers bring me to a small room, there are many monitors, machines, and scientists crammed into the tiny space. I look around, my eyes rest on an opening in the wall. The Erasers shove me into the opening and then close it. I am alone. I bang on the opening, screaming for them to let me out, for help, but nothing comes except a sharp electric shock on the bottom of me feet. I start to sob as I run down a passageway. I am in a maze. I take a turn, dead end. I turn around and take another. It is a dead end. I let myself fall to the floor, sobbing. Electricity shocks me.

Finally, I run down a passageway and it's not a dead end. I go down another, and then another till finally I reach... another dead end. Why is this maze so impossible? I give up, fall to the floor, and ignore the pain of the shocks. The silence was blissful...it was wonderful. Maybe I would die here and then I wouldn't have to run around like a lab rat. I almost melt into the silence when I sit up. There are voices coming from the other side of the wall. I get up, ignoring the shocks of pain in my feet, and touch the wall. There is the outline of an opening, but no opening. But wait, walls are flammable aren't they? I take a few steps back and close my eyes. I picture the wall, then I imagine the wall on fire. As soon as I do, I feel heat, a crackling of burning paint and wall. I hear the fire extinguisher put out the fire. I finally open my eyes to see a hole in the wall, Scientists on the other side taking notes. I climb through the wall and let the Erasers grab me and take me to my cage.

Amber is in her cage, next to mine. She gives me a comforting smile and I smile back.

At least today I can say I won.

-•-

Falcon is escorted to a prison like room and thrown in. At least it's not a dog cage. Warm food is on the table and Falcon devours it hungrily. When he goes to bed, he smiles an evil smile. Tomorrow the true fun would begin.


	5. Out of the Woods

**authors note: there is a slightly frightening/ intense scene of an experiment.**

CHAPTER FOUR

I am thrown into the Gymnasium. Regina and Jay (two young girls who had befriended me) ran up to me.

After a while of flying and playing tag we stop to rest. As we sit there my eyes scan the crowd and rest on the boy with black hair.

"I'll be right back." I mutter to Jay and Regina. As I walk towards him I try to summon all my courage. I stop in front of him.

"Do you need something?" The boy asks. His eyes give away no emotion as he stands ridged next to the wall.

"I'm Lori." I say and I thrust my hand out. He doesn't take it.

"In here you will learn your old self doesn't exist anymore." The boy says. I glare at him.

"Fine. And who are you." I ask. He looks at me.

"Who do you think I should be." He retorts.

"Raven." I snap. I was pretty sure the raven bird is a jerk, the name suited this boy.

Raven smirks.

"This means you need a name." He says. I frown at him.

Suddenly the Gymnasium becomes quiet, too quiet. Two Erasers grab me and drag me over to a small room. The walls are made of glass and all the bird kids in the Gymnasium crowd around.

"Spread your winds." A scientist snaps at me. I do as he says. The Scientist nods at another. I watch in fear as they light a match. And then they set my wings on fire.

Immediately all the kids outside start screaming. I just stand there, frozen by fear. Unable to move. I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the flames to burn me alive.

Suddenly the room becomes quite again. Then a gasp goes up. I open my eyes. My wings haven't burnt up, but stay on fire. One of the Scientists aims a fire extinguisher at me and ignites it. Once he turns it off I cough. The Erasers pick me up and throw me back into the Gymnasium. All the kids return to their business as I lay there on the floor. I look up to see Raven standing over me. He offers me his hand, I take it and he pulls me up.

"Phoenix," he says, "why don't we call you, Phoenix."

-•-

Raven hasn't been to the Gymnasium in three days. I loath him but I worry about him all the same. The mood has been solemn.

"Hey, Phoenix." Falcon says. I smile at him.

"So I've been on the Schools good side recently and I've gotten their permission to take you on a tour around the building." He says. I look up at him.

"That would be great." I say. "When can we go?"

"Right now." Is his answer.

The hallways in the School are long and curved so I am convinced the shape of the building is a circle.

"Let's go to the center of the building." I say. Falcon nods and smiles. On the way to the center we come into an empty observation room. There's a big window in one wall. I go to it and gasp. I am looking into a room that has neither floor nor ceiling that I can see. There is a small platform in the middle of the room with an operating table in the middle. I can see someone is strapped to the table. A scientist moves around the table. I look on in horror as I realize the test subjects arms, legs, and back have been cut open. Clamps attach to the test subjects bones. Eventually the scientist flips a lever and electricity flows through the clamps. The test subject cries out.

"It's not asleep, it awake!" I sob. "How could they do this?"

Falcon wraps his arms around me. "We should get out of here." He says. Then I recognize something.

"Wait." I say. I detach myself from Falcon and look through the window again.

The test subject is Raven

-•-

A few days later I sit in my crate. Amber is asleep in the crate next to mine. I look up at the security camera. The red lights flicks on and off. On, off. On, off. On, off...

A rage fills me. I've been here almost three years, awake for only 8 of the months. I hate it here.

Without wondering what the consequences would be, I stare at the lock on my cage. I imagine it filling with fire. I imagine it melting. A few moments later it does. My cage door is unlocked. I get out and melt the lock on Ambers cage.

"Get up. Let's go!" I say. Amber awakes and sees the open door. She jumps out.

"Are we freeing anyone else?" She asks. I nod. I know exactly who to free.

-•-

The boy with blond hair is exhausted. He's almost out of air. He floats to the bottom of the tank and tries to cry, but he can't. All his tears are spent. Suddenly he hears the trapdoor unblock. They were letting him out! He floats to the top and wait. When it is open he climbs out as fast as he can. But he is not greeted by scientist, instead he is greeted by the girl Amber, the twins: Ollie and Woody, the other two girls: Regina and Jay, the blind Izzy, Robin and Birch, and finally the girl with dark red hair. Phoenix.

"You're free." She says.

-•-

Raven lays on his stomach in the heavily padded room. Everything hurts. Every muscle, every bone. He just wants it all to end. But then his door opens, and there stands Phoenix. Behind her is Falcon, Amber, and the rest of the kids she made friends with, including the kid who's scared of water.

"C'mon, we're running." Phoenix says. Raven slowly gets up, tries not to wince, and stands up.

"Let's go." Phoenix says.

The group makes its way through the School, avoiding scientists and Erasers. Finally they make it to a double door. When it is open the group runs out and jumps into the air, spreading their wings. As they fly away Raven looks back one last time at the circular building call the School, then he looks at Phoenix. She is flying well, only faltering every once in a while. If only they had left Falcon behind.

-•-

The Doctor stands in the courtyard watching the group of experiments fly away.

"They escaped without interference?" The doctor asks. The Eraser nods.

"Good." The Doctor says. "Let the real experiments begin."

 **Authors note #2: now that they're out of the School the real fun shall begin. Also please, please, please review! I would like to know how I'm doing!**


	6. New Years Day

Chapter five

"Where will we go now?" Ollie asks. I shrug, I have no idea.

"There's a structure down there!" Amber shouts while pointing. I nod and we fly down. We land in front of a house-like structure, the floors are there, the walls are crumbling, and half the roof is missing.

"I guess this could work?" I say hesitantly. "But is anyone in there?"

Raven shakes his head. I frown, how could he be sure?

"I can help check." Falcon says, I nod and smile. Falcon launches himself into the air and flies over the building. He comes back a while later and nods.

"It's empty." He says. I nod and go inside, the building is broken up, yet sturdy.

"Alright everyone we should um..." I pause, I have no idea what to do next.

"Food?" Izzy asks. I nod.

"Water?" Regina asks. I nod.

"Where will we get water and food?" Jay asks. I look at all of them, I have no idea.

"Maybe...um..." I stutter.

"I can get us water." Says a small voice. I turn to see the boy with blond hair. He hesitantly picks up a broken cup. It instantly fills with water, the moment it does the boy jumps and cringes, spilling the water.

"Maybe I shouldn't hold the cup." He mutters.

"Stop splashing water around." Izzy snaps. The boy cringes.

"We can call him Splash!" Woody says. The boy with blond hair looks at Woody with wide eyes. I nod.

"It will make things easier..." I say. The boy with blond hair shrugs.

"Splash." Izzy snorts. Amber and Robin roll their eyes.

"Ok so, food?" Birch asks.

"If we split up some of us can look for food and others can set up places to sleep, like tents." I say. The others look at me with blank expressions.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"What's a tent?" Jay asks. Of course they don't know what a tent is.

"Just find soft stuff to sleep on."

"Why soft stuff?"

"So it's comfortable."

Jay frowns and shrugs.

"I'll help look for food. Who wants to go with me and who wants to stay?" I ask.

-•-

I lie on my assortment of leaves and broken up pillows. Jay, Regina, and Robin had created nest-like places to sleep on. I roll over and look around, I can't sleep. Raven is on watch, sitting in a hidden crack in the wall. I get up and climb into the crack next to him.

"See anything?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"How long had you been in the School?" I ask.

"All my life." He says.

"I'm sorry. That must have been horrible." I say. Raven shifts, he looks slightly uncomfortable.

"I know you like Falcon." He says. I look at him, startled.

"I wouldn't trust him though. He's a spy." Raven tells me. I stare at him.

"And how would you know this?" I sputter.

"I can hear his thoughts, see his memories." He says.

"Can you read my thoughts?" I ask. He nods.

"I can't really help it, or turn it off. It just happens."

"Is that why your cell was padded and closed off from everyone?"

He nods. I bite my lip.

"Is it hard?" I ask. He looks at me.

"I mean, is it hard sharing everyone's thoughts, minds, memories?"

He nods.

"Is it lonely?"

He looks at me.

"You should go to bed, we probably have a long day tomorrow." Raven says quietly. I nod.

"I'll talk to Falcon in the morning." I tell him. I feel angry about it all, and especially about Falcon. I get up and go to my "nest", lying down and going to sleep.

-•-

"GET UP, GET UP!"

Someone is screaming. I lift my head and discover chaos. The building is on fire around us, floors and beams are giving way underneath us. I get up and run out with everyone.

"Is everyone out?" I ask in a pant.

"Falcon didn't make it." Splash whispers quietly. Amber starts sobbing and Robin holds her close. I feel horrible.

"How did the fire start?" I ask.

"We don't know." Birch says. I nod.

"Let's get out of here." I say.

-•-

Raven watches Phoenix fly from his place in the back of their flocks formation. It was hard, knowing the truth. He even knew what the others didn't, but whatever happened, Raven knew he could never tell Phoenix that she was the reason the fire started. Raven knew that if Phoenix knew, she would break, and the group couldn't deal with that, the group needed a leader, they needed Phoenix.

 **Authors note: please, please, please review! I hope y'all are enjoying this, tell me what you think. Also in response to someone's review saying I should do better vocabulary, I think that writing in present tense is already hard enough without adding fancy words, which I can add big words but I don't want this story to be confusing, I want it to be enjoyable. Anyway, please review and stay tuned for more.**


	7. No tears left to cry

**Authors note1: so sorry for the long delay, life is insane.**

 **As a little spoiler, the Flock WILL make an appearance in this story, but it will be a little while.**

 **Also this chapter has to do with death. It is sad. (If you want to make it more sad, listen to a sad song. Just kidding don't do that.)**

CHAPTER SIX

Numb. All I feel is numb. It's like I'm trapped in a small room and the light is turned off. I've never experienced death before, I've never seen it. Death has never touched me. Today it does. As a group we land a while later in front of a gas station. I motion for us to go inside. We have no money but there will be bathrooms, paper towels to dry our tears on.

The inside of the gas station is worse than the outside. The place smells of mold and rotting meat. I pinch my nose and show everyone to the bathrooms.

Once alone in a stall I sit on the tank of the toilet and cry. I haven't cried once, now I do.

I cry for Falcon, the life he never got to live.

I cry for Jay and Regina, youth and innocence has been ripped from them.

I cry for Ollie and Woody, their optimism cannot last forever, I pray they prove me wrong.

I cry for Robin and Birch, friends in freedom and now friends in sorrow.

I cry for Amber and Izzy, opposites but both important to me.

And finally I cry for Splash and Raven. What has happened to us in terrible, I pray it doesn't happen to anyone else.

-•-

"Where to now?" Robin asks. I have no answer. I should have an answer, they look to me like I'm some kind of leader.

"You shouldn't ask me. I don't know how to lead." I whisper. Birch shrugs.

"You've gotten us this far." Birch says.

"We need a name!" Woody suddenly burst out. All of us look at him. Ollie nods his head.

"We should be the Heathens!" Jay pipes up. We look at her.

"Do you even know what that means?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"How about the Rogues?" A small voice says. We all turn to look at Regina. She smiles.

"The Rogues," I repeat. I nod. The name will fit just fine.

-•-

I stare at the stars, how did I get here?

"You flew." Raven says as he sits. I look at him and roll my eyes. True, we, the Rogues, flew to the patch of trees we are currently camping out in. But that's not what I mean.

"I know." He says again. My gaze turns to the stars.

"You've been hiding something from me." I say. I'm not stupid, the boy who always holds my stare, who is never the first to look away, has been avoiding me.

"You don't need to worry about it." Raven murmurs. I look at him.

"If I am supposed to be your leader I think I should know." I snap. He looks at me.

"If you knew, you wouldn't want to be leader anymore." He says quietly.

"Why don't you let me decide that for myself."

Raven takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. What is so troublesome he can't, or won't, tell me?

"If I tell you, you have to promise to get over the pain, because it will be painful." He says. I nod. He sighs sadly.

"Phoenix," Raven swallows hard and looks me in the eye. "You started the fire."

Suddenly I can't hear. I can't breathe. It's like all the air is sucked from my lungs. All I can hear is the thumping of my own heart.

Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum.

"I killed Falcon?" I whisper in horror. Raven looks at me sadly.

"Not intentionally." He murmurs.

Anger. All I can feel is anger. Raven is wrong, he has to be.

"You're delusional. You're making this up because you don't like, you didn't like, Falcon. You loathed him, right?" I spat. Raven just looks at me sadly. I get up and walk away. He is wrong. He has to be.

-•-

Amber sits in the shadows listening. She watches as Phoenix gets up and storms away from Raven. Phoenix killed Falcon? Just when Amber thought she was getting over the grief, her world is shattering again. And it is all Phoenix's fault. If Amber had never left the School, maybe if Phoenix had never come to the School, Falcon might still be alive. But Amber can't deal in what ifs. She has to act now. Phoenix was going to pay for her crimes, no matter the cost.

 **Authors note2: cliffhanger I know. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Anyway please, please, please review. I'm almost to double digits in reviews, I'd love to make 10 soon (if that's possible..) anyway, I'll see y'all next time.**


	8. Cheap thrills

**Authors note: Please read note at the bottom!**

 **sorry for the filler chapter!**

 _I am running in a maze, every turn I take leads me to a dead end. I'm tired, yet I cannot stop. And someone is screaming, I've heard that scream before._

I jolt awake. My dreams nowadays are always filled with violence and screams, I am almost never dreamless.

"Did you sleep well?" Robin asks me. I shrug, there is nothing I can really say, I haven't slept well in a while.

"Birch made breakfast stew," Robin says as she hands me a bowl. I try the stew and gag.

"What's in this?" I ask hoarsely. Robin shrugs.

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" Robin says. I nod.

"I told him it was. Birch wouldn't believe me." Robin sighs. She sits next to me.

Soon after we have eaten (we ate the stew so as to not offend Birch) we set out. Flying up in the air was peaceful, almost nothing could go wrong. After flying most of the day we make it to a small town. I notice an old clothing store. We are in desperate need of clothes, all we have are the hospital pants and shirts, all of which have a strange symbol on the sleeve. I motion everyone inside.

Shopping with the Rogues is very hard for me because no one knows what anything is (except for underwear. Everyone knew what that was). After spending about 10 minutes explaining what a bra was to Izzy, we were finally able to start looking for actual clothes (the boys had already found what they needed. They were waiting outside).

Jay and Regina have found some sequin-y clothing in the back, Amber is looking at shoes with Robin, so I am stuck helping Izzy dress.

"What is this?" Izzy asks as she holds up a tube top.

"It's a shirt." I respond.

"Where's the rest of it?"

I sigh.

"Put it on. I'll help u find a jacket to go with it." I say. Izzy, alright dressed in sweatpants (the jeans were "too tight"), sighs and stomps off to change. I sigh and look around. I am already dressed in culottes that look like jeans and a shirt that has no back (helpful with the wings). I find a camouflage jacket and put it on, it's a bit big for me but it will work.

By the time Izzy returns I am lacing up some boots I found. I look at Izzy and try not to laugh.

"The shirt goes on the upper half, not the lower..." I say. The tube top is covering Izzy's stomach, not her chest.

"But the bras already covering the top." She says.

"Maybe we should try a different shirt..."

"Finally."

I roll my eyes, grab another shirt off the rack and through it at her. Izzy leaves to change, again.

I hear footsteps approach me, I turn to see Amber. I hug her but Amber doesn't respond.

"Are you alright?" I ask. Amber looks at me and nods.

"Just tired I guess." She laughs. I look up at Izzy's approach.

"Perfect." I say, "let's join the others."

 **Authors note: please, please, please review! I'm almost to ten and would love to be in the double digits when I post the next chapter!**

 **also do you think I should change the rating of this story to "M" for disturbing images?**

 **till next time!**


	9. Don't

**Authors note: I really hope you enjoy this chapter! And please, please, please read the note at the bottom.**

 _Ssssshhhhing. Sssssshhhing. Ssssshing._

Amber smiles as she sharpens the knife.

 _Ssssshhhhing. Sssssshhhhing. Ssshhhhhing._

She lifts up the blade, holding it to the light.

It is perfect.

There is only one person worthy of the blade.

-•-

Phoenix walks back and forth in the clearing while Amber watches.

"Are you alright?" Amber asks. They are alone, but the others are not far away.

"I honestly have no idea." Phoenix says. "My mind is just so clogged and full, like I have no where to dump all the information. It's just swimming and it can't get out!"

Amber's heart beat quickens. Now could, no. Now will be her chance.

"How about we take to the sky, fly around a bit." Amber suggests. Phoenix looks at her.

"Won't the others worry?" She asks. Amber shrugs.

"Does it matter? You need the break." Amber says. Phoenix nods.

Amber's smile broadens.

They take to the air.

-•-

Phoenix is a puzzle, although who is supposed to solve that puzzle, Raven has no clue. He feels bad though, like somehow he could have handled telling Phoenix about the fire a bit differently. What if she did something else drastic?

"Do you think we found enough firewood?" Splash asks. Raven nods.

Splash has grown since the group, well, since the Rogues left the School, and not just physically. Raven remembers when Splash was a scared little boy, much like himself. Now that Raven thinks about it, the whole group has grown. They are no longer shy, scared kids that are terrified they might do something wrong. In a way they are free. Raven smiles inwardly at the thought, though the smile doesn't show on his face. That would be out of character.

Splash and Raven return to the campground to find it abandoned.

"I thought the girls were taking watch here." Splash states. Raven looks around to see a stone, a useful stone. For sharpening knives.

"Phoenix is in danger." Raven realizes. A look of horror shadows Splash's face. _Who would want to harm Phoenix?_

-•-

"Why are you doing this?" I ask. The girl I befriended, the girl I had trusted, is holding a knife to my neck. Amber pushes me away, grabs the front of my shirt and points the knife towards my chest.

"I want to make you suffer." She hisses.

"For what? What did I do?" I plea.

"You killed Falcon!" She shouts. I just stay where I am, dumbfounded.

"It was an accident!" I whisper. _What more can I say?_

"'It was an accident!'" Amber mimics. "I heard what Raven said to you, about how your hate brought Falcon down. He's dead because of you! Dead!"

I can't speak. I can't breathe. I can barely keep flapping my wings. I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.

Then Amber swings the knife out and in. I feel a sharp pain in my gut. My wings cease flapping.

Then I fall.

 **Authors note: please, please, please review! Y'alls reviews always brighten my day (and my email)! I love, love, love hearing from y'all, so please review with constructive criticism, theories as to what's going to happen next, or just leave a dollar sign ( the site won't let me make a heart with a three and a less then sign :( ), or just a smiley face if you don't have anything to say. Anyway, thank you for reading, and if you want updates on when I post, feel free to follow/and favorite!**

 **till next time!**


	10. Titanium

**Authors note: phew it's been way to long! Life is Insane. Also I'm considering changing the rating of this story to M but I'm not sure. Anyway, reviews always make my day! Please review!**

 _I cry and look at my Papa._

 _"It's ok," he says. "It's just a scratch."_

 _I smile as he wipes away my tears. He then picks me up and wraps me in his arms._

 _"Let's go get a bandaid." He says._

The memory of my first scraped knee comes to mind as I lie on the ground staring at the sky. How I wish the pain I felt was just a scraped knee, how I wish my father was here to pick me up and tell me that I would be fine. But he's not here.

The sky is blurry, hell, everything is blurry.

Someone is calling my name, putting pressure on the pain. Then nothing.

My world goes black as I slip into unconsciousness.

-•-

I open my eyes. Above me is tree, just tree, I cannot see the sky. I try to prop myself up but Raven pushes me down.

"You need to stay still." He says quietly. I turn my head, attempting to see my surroundings.

"We're far away from the others. But don't worry, you're safe." Raven murmurs. I look at him.

"Why are we away from the others?" I ask. I can see a troubled look in Ravens eyes.

"Amber told them you killed Falcon, I said it was an accident, no one believed me." He tells me.

"Why wouldn't anyone believe you? And why did we leave?" I ask.

"They didn't believe me because they don't trust me. You are the only one that wanted me to come with you. And we left because Amber kicked us out. Well, she kicked you out. I just opted to go with you."

I close my eyes, processing everything Raven just told me. I open them again and look at him.

"Do they all hate me?" I whisper. Raven gives me a sympathetic look.

"Not all of them. Some of them are too young to understand. Some are easily swayed. And some are indifferent." He says. "But if it makes you feel better, Splash didn't fully believe Amber's story."

I smile.

"That does make me feel a bit better. Thanks."

"Get some rest," Raven says. "I need you to have strength."

I nod and go back to sleep. I don't even want to argue. Raven seems to know everything, so I'll listen to him for now.

-•-

Raven leans against a tree trunk, across from where Phoenix rests. Her mind is troubled, he can see that. He doesn't have to read her mind to know that. He shakes his head. None of them deserve this. None of the newly found, and newly split up Rogues deserve this life. No one deserves to be an experiment. Especially not the young girl asleep in front of him.

If it weren't for the School, Lori Wilcox would be innocent and safe. If it weren't for the School, Lori Wilcox wouldn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. If it weren't for the School, Lori Wilcox would still be Lori Wilcox. But that wasn't who she was anymore. Thanks to the School she had lost everything.

Raven sits down and replays the conversation he had just had with Phoenix. Why did he stay with her and her group, he didn't have to. He would have been fine, probably better off, on his own. But he chose to stay with her, to protect her. Probably because escaping was part of the experiment. And probably because the way this experiment was going to end was with Phoenix in a body bag.

Maybe being in people heads all the time isn't such a bad thing, Raven thinks to himself. And secretly, Raven kind of likes the knowledge it gives him. The advantage. It helped him in the past, it'll help with the future.

-•-

I feel warm. I open my eyes only to quickly close them again.

"Why is the sun so bright?" I whine. I hear Raven sigh.

"Well it is sunrise and you are facing the sun. For starters." He quips. I just groan. Finally, after a moment of silence I open my eyes and look at him.

"So where the hell do we go now?" I ask. Raven looks at me.

"Well we could go to your childhood home." He says. I look at him. He shrugs.

"After all, it's just over the hill." He says.


	11. Bad blood

**Authors note. Writers block sucks. Anyway please review! Anywhere from a word to a paragraph works. That and I like to be able to open my email and something fun actually be there. Anyway sorry for the wait and enjoy!**

Raven helps me up the hill and towards the house. My house.

Memories flood my mind. I look at the lawn, the same lawn I danced across with my father. And the mail box... where my world went dark. So not all my memories of this place are good...

Raven smirks at me, I know he is reading my mind. Seeing my memories along with me. There would have been I time where I would be angry at him for invading my thoughts, but I understand. He can't help it.

Then I remember the pain in my gut.

"Hurts..." I mutter. Raven nods and gets me to the door.

"What if they don't live here anymore?" I fret.

"Only one way to find out." Raven says. Then he rings the doorbell.

My mother opens the door and stares.

My mouth feels dry, my mind is blank. What do I say? I lived? No, too apathetic. I'm home? I don't even know what home is anymore so that won't work. Thankfully I don't have to break the silence.

"Lori?" My mother gasps. Then she pulls me into a tight embrace. I can feel tears on my neck as she cries. I feel a tear slide down my own cheek.

"I thought I lost you." My mother whispers. I just hold her close.

"Where's papa?" I ask.

"He didn't make it." My mother cries. I cry with her. I don't even feel the pain in my stomach anymore. After a while Raven clears his throat.

"Who are you?" My mother asks as she pulls away from me. Raven dodges her question.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" He asks.

"Of course, why would you ask that?" My mother says. Raven just gestures to my stomach. There is a giant bloodstain on the front of my shirt. Along with a hole left behind by the knife. My mother gasps.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" She says.

"Well, she was stabbed," Raven starts. "Then she fell out of the sky."

My mother looks horrified.

We are ushered into my house and I am put down on the couch. My mother runs off to get some linen (for wrapping the wound. Per Ravens request), and the first aid kit. Raven starts to lift the bottom of my shirt so can see the wound, but he stops.

"So your mothers kind of uptight..." he says. I nod.

"Would she get angry if I saw your stomach?"

I almost burst out laughing, then I realize how relevant his question is. My mother has never let me be alone with a boy, let alone a boy seeing my stomach.

I shrug, helpless.

Then my mother walks in. I have never see Raven look uncomfortable, and I submit that feeling to memory because, well, why not. I would laugh but the pain in my stomach makes laughter an irrelevant thing.

"Mrs. Wilcox," Raven starts, "permission to... um... treat you daughter?"

My mother nods. Raven lifts my shirt and folds it across my chest.

"Shouldn't I call 911?" My mother asks.

"No." Raven and I say at the same time.

"Why not?" My mother asks.

"It's better for the world to believe that we are dead." Raven states.

"Young man what is your name?" My mother snaps.

"Derek." Raven responds. I look at him. _Who the hell is Derek?_

Raven apparently.

Raven fills up a syringe and injects something into my bloodstream.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Something to make you sleep. One, you need sleep. Two, this next part is gonna hurt." He says.

Then I fall asleep.

-•-

Amber sits outside of the Wilcox home. She watches Mrs. Wilcox care for her sleeping daughter through a window.

Amber watches Raven flying in the sky, scanning the ground for intruders, doctors, Erasers, anyone possibly there to kill them.

When she is sure Raven is looking the other way, she runs to the house and slips inside.

"I was safe in the school and Phoenix had to ruin that for me." Amber mutters to herself as she hides in the hallway leading to the dining room.

After a while Mrs. Wilcox walks in. Amber silently steps out of the shadows and places a knife against Mrs. Wilcox' neck.

Phoenix had hurt Amber, this was the only way Amber knows how to return the favor.


	12. Praying

**Authors note: it has been too long, I'm sorry. Writers block sucks.**

 **Anyway please review, reviews make my day!**

 **Also, what is your opinion on the Maximum Ride movie?**

 ***Possible trigger warning. This chapter depicts an experiment in progress and depicts murder***

By the time Raven finishes checking the perimeter he is exhausted. Walking into the house on tiptoes, he makes his was to the living room.

Phoenix is gone.

Panic floods Raven. How has he lost her already?

Running through the house he makes it to the dining room, what he sees takes his breathe away, and not in a good way.

Mrs. Wilcox is laying on the floor in a puddle of blood. Phoenix is on her knees sobbing. Next to her is a pile of ash.

"What happened?" Raven whispers. Phoenix looks up. She is devastated.

"I w-went looking for mom, and she was here," Phoenix says in a shaky, tear choked voice. "A-Amber attacked me."

Raven crouches next to Phoenix.

"Where is Amber now?" He whispers. Phoenix looks at the pile of ash and breaks into hysterical sobs. Raven leans Phoenix's head on his shoulder.

"I just touched her and she turned to ashes. I don't know what happened." Phoenix sobs.

Raven sighs.

How the hell did they end up here.

-•-

 **The outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah. Lab #160**

 **8 years ago**

7 year old Derek Green sits in his cage, staring into his reflection in the bottom of his water bowl. Making sure no one is looking, Derek sticks out his tongue and crosses his eyes. He resumes a blank face when he hears footsteps approaching.

"Experiment number 004, ready for procedure?" One doctor asks another. The other nods and the two open Derek's cage and yank him out. Derek has learned not to fight back, the punishment is unbearable.

Derek is taken into a highly sanitized room, the floors and walls are a blotchy white because of how many times they've been bleached.

Derek is forced into a chair, his arms, legs, waist, and neck receive restraints, holding him to the chair.

After the doctors shave Derek's head, they wipe off part of it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Derek sees one doctor pick up an unusually large syringe, the needle has to be five inches long.

In young Derek's mind, it is the most terrifying thing he has seen.

Suddenly he feels a sharp pain in his scull as the needle is pushed into his head, into his brain.

He feels the syringes contents empty into his brain and he cries.

The pain, the horror,

what could be worse than this?

-•-

 **The Wilcox Manor, present time**

Raven ushers Phoenix away from the house, her house. A house she would never see again.

They try to run through the forest as fast as they can, they can hear the wailing of cop cars in the distance, but Phoenix is exhausted, both mentally and physically. After a while Raven bends down and picks her up, carrying her the rest of the way.

Ravens heart breaks for her,

what could be worse than this?


	13. Same old love

**Authors note: wow it has been too long. Writers block was biting me in the ass on top of a storm that fried my internet.**

 **Anyway I apologize for how long the wait has been. Nevertheless please review, I love to hear you feedback! And there is always room for growth.**

 **The outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah. Lab #160**

 **8 years ago**

Isabella sits quietly in her cage. She watches the Scientists walk past, their heads down, staring at clipboards. She rubs the hair clip she had stolen from the female scientist the day before, and now, this was her chance, now or never.

Leaping to the cage door Isabella fiddles with the lock, finally unlocking it with the hair clip. She jumps out of the cage and runs.

She makes it to a pair of double doors, but just as she pushes through, a scientist grabs her.

"No! Let me go!" Isabella screams. The scientist gives her to two Erasers who drag her to her cage.

The scientist pulls out a spray bottle.

"You do not deserve a normal life, seeing as how you are not human." The scientist says. "And naughty Experiments deserve to be punished."

The scientist sprays Isabella in the face before closing and locking her cage door.

Isabella cries as the horrid liquid seeps into her tightly shut eyes. When she finally opens her eyes she cries some more.

She can no longer see.

"Enjoy being blind." The scientist says.

-•-

 **An abandoned house, present time**

I wake up in a pile of blankets. I do not remember getting here, much less how I ended up tucked away in a strange bed.

I get up and walk around the room, finding a door that leads to a bathroom. I turn on the light and almost scream at my reflection.

My long red hair is streaked with dirt, my skin is pale and my brown eyes hollow. I look down, my clothes are in no better shape. They are torn, filthy, and soaked with blood. Some of the blood is mine, the knife wound has reopened, and some of the blood is my mothers.

I replay the memories over and over, I even lie back down, hoping to wake up and find it was all a dream, that I am still 13 and am going to bed after a long day of waltzing with my father.

But I know deep down that this isn't a dream.

The horrors that are to unfold in my life have only just begun.

-•-

When I do get up I go downstairs. Raven is sitting at the kitchen table.

"Who's house is this?" I whisper hoarsely. Raven looks up. He shrugs.

"No idea. But it looked abandoned. Pile of newspapers on the front step. Dust everywhere." He murmurs. I nod and go to the table. Raven jumps up and pulls out a chair for me to sit. I thank him and sit down.

"Where do we go now?" Raven asks. I look at him.

"We need to find the others, Izzy, Splash, all of them. I-I need to know what happened to them." I say. Raven nods.

"We'll leave tomorrow." He says.

 **Authors note 2: poor Isabella! Well it'll be nice to have the whole gang together, what do you think? See ya around.**


	14. Bleeding out

I walk next to Raven. Because of my fall my wings are too sore to carry me into the sky, so we walk. We've been walking like this for four days. Raven had fixed my wound again and wrapped it tighter this time.

"Where could they be?" I ask hoarsely. Raven stops.

"I can hear their thoughts." He says. I sigh, they must be close. Then out of the bushes Splash appears.

"PHOENIX! RAVEN! You're here?!" He screams. I nod and Raven remains emotionless. The others come running out of the bushes. Robin embraces me.

"I can't believe we split up. I should've stayed with you I knew I should've." She cries. I hug her awkwardly while trying to keep my wound from being crushed.

"We're being followed." Birch informs me. "The Schools not gonna let us go."

I nod.

"Everything's gonna be shit unless we can escape the School." Izzy states. I consider.

"I agree but I can't run yet," I say. All eyes are on me.

"We weren't the only experiments, there are probably hundreds of other kids just like us out there, trapped in cages and injected with crap and shoved through mazes like lab rats. I can't run away from the School unless I know they can escape too." I take a breath before I continue, "I'm going to free those kids, I'm going to make sure there are no more Schools. I don't know how I'm going to do this but I have to. I would love some help in this but this might be a suicide mission. Not all of us will make it out if we do try to do this. So if you want to leave, you can. I won't judge you, and I don't blame you." I say, "but I'm going on. Not because I can but because I have to. If I don't, who will?"

There is silence and no one speaks for several minutes. Finally Regina speaks.

"I'm not very old but I can help. I won't leave." She says. Jay nods in agreement. Ollie and Woody giggle and agree to stay.

"I don't have anywhere else to go and no one else to go to," Splash says. "I'll help you."

"So will I," Birch says. Robin agrees. Izzy walks over to me.

"I'm probably gonna die either way. So if or when I die, I'm dragging those shits down to hell with me." She says. I nod. I look at Raven. He nods, letting me know he's on board.

"But," Izzy says. "If you're gonna be leader and lead this mission, you've gotta learn to say more than 'crap'"

I smile and laugh.

"I'll do my best." I tell her.

-•-

It takes us a few months to collect all the information we can on the Schools. The floor plans are easy to get since all we have to do is get close enough to a School employee for Raven to get into the employees memory's and acquire them. After that it's just busywork.

The plan is simple, Izzy and Splash are the lookouts, they stay on our backs and make sure our exit is clear. Raven heads down to the basement to cut the power. Robin and Regina take out the guards that are at main points of entry. Birch, Ollie, and Woody will help Izzy and Splash keep the escape route open, and Jay and I will get the kids out.

It probably wasn't the best of plans but we weren't exactly professionals at the whole breaking and entering thing. We have an exact date set for when we are going to infiltrate the School so all we have to do is wait.

So we train.

I get pretty handy with a knife and grow to prefer a knife over the popular choice of a gun, which is what everyone else has (except Izzy. She prefers a long, skinny, and sturdy metal pole she found. It was about five feet tall).

When the day comes we all give each other one last hug. Some of us may not make it out alive. We ready our weapons and we "march into battle".

I only have one regret before we start.

One of us is a fraud, and thinking about it now, I probably should've said something before we started.

Well, it's not like every story has a happy ending.

 **Authors note: so it has sorta kinda been wayyy too long since I last updated. Sorry about that. School can be very time consuming so I don't get much writing done.**

Anyway i I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I hope you're not too mad at me for that cliffhanger. Anyway, love you guys and I'll hopefully be updating more frequently now. Bye for now.


	15. Consequences

Jay and I make headway through the vents. We are able to climb undetected through many labs and rooms, till we reach a room with nothing in it.

"I don't understand. This room is completely empty." Jay whispers. I nod. I crawl a few more spaces when the vent shafts give way and Jay and I fall the the floor.

I sit up and rub my head.

"Jay are you alright?" I murmur. But neither of us is alright. Then the doors on either side of the room burst open and men with dart guns come in. I'm hit in the neck and as I pass out I see a tall man come inside. He is quite old and his black hair is peppered with gray. His eyes, his very familiar eyes, are the last thing I see before I loose consciousness.

-•-

I wake up in a small room with my hands handcuffed to the table. Across from me the man sits with ease. He is pleased with himself. To his right is a video camera, set up on a stand and no doubt is recording my every move.

"Hello Miss Phoenix," the man says, "what a pretty name. Who gave it to you?"

"What's your name?" I ask. I have a nasty feeling that this man knows exactly who gave me my name. And for a fleeting moment I wonder if Raven is a spy.

The man chuckles.

"You may call me the Doctor." He says with satisfaction. I just glare at him. He sighs then gets out a folder.

The Doctor places six photos in front of me. The subjects in the photos are young, one is just an Ultrasound.

"What am I looking at." I growl. The Doctor grins.

"Your friends, they will die today," the Doctor pauses to look at me, "but only if you refuse to choose one of these six subjects."

"And what will happen to the person I choose?" I say.

"Well, to let you know. The world is going to be restarted, and we need someone who is going to 'save' the world." The Doctor says. I frown.

"So you want me to choose someone for a suicide mission?" I ask. The Doctor laughs.

"One the savior of the world will survive. But there will be a cost. You must also choose one for death. Only in the death of a loved one will the savior do what we want he or she to do."

I stare at him in horror. "You can't do this." I state. He just laughs.

"If you don't choose, I will. And I will also choose one of your friends for death." The Doctor threatens.

"I can't doom someone like this!" I say.

"I thought you might say that." The Doctor then opens the door to the interrogation room. A soldier comes in with Jay. A gun is pressed into her head.

"No," I whisper. A tear slides down my face. The Doctor sits down across from me.

"Do it. Choose." He says. I fight back tears and lean forwards to look at the photos. I glance at the camera before picking up a photograph.

"To save the world," I say in a shaky voice, "I choose..." I flip the photo over to look at the name.

"Maximum Ride."

The Doctor smiles. "And who will die, miss Phoenix?"

I put down the photo of Maximum Ride. I choose a photo at random.

"Fang." I whisper.

"Good." The Doctor whispers. He then knocks on the table. The soldier holding Jay pulls the trigger. Jay's dead body falls to the ground.

"No!" I cry out and lurch from my place at the table, but the cuffs around my wrists, that chain me to the table, stop me.

"I did what you said! You said you'd let her her go!" I cry. The Doctor clicks his tongue.

"Haven't I told you, Phoenix," he says.

His words break through my tears. They bounce in my head like a ball, back and forth.

"Always remember. Trust no one. No one at all."


	16. Centuries

**Authors note: im sorry, i was gone too long. Anyways, reviews make me happy and more likely to update, please review!**

I am alone and I have two choices, stare at the cuffs that bind me, or stare at the bloodstain on the wall.

Jay's blood.

Jay is dead.

I fight the tears but it's too hard. It's too painful.

The guards and the Doctor left a while ago. I doubt that they will return. A nasty feeling in my gut keeps coming back, what if another one of my friends is dead?

I bite my lip to keep myself from sobbing. Thinking of death was making me think of how I killed Amber.

I took a life.

I never thought I would take a life.

I remember reading the Hippocratic Oath when I was a kid, I remember wanting to take that oath when I grew up, regardless of my career choice.

 _"...I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm..."_ (source, the Hippocratic oath)

I had wanted her to die, so wasn't her death intentional?

I sigh and look down at the cuffs, I had turned Amber to dust... but maybe something good can come of that ability.

I concentrate and twist my hands so that my fingertips press into the hard metal.

The cuffs dissolve.

I get up, open the door, and run. This is no longer a game of hide and seek, it's a game of tag.

And I'm not it.

As I run down the brightly lit corridors I hear a commotion in one of the rooms. I slip up to the door and listen.

-•-

Raven has just finished cutting the power when something hits him on the back of the head. He turns to see a skinny guard gazing at him with terror in his eyes, and a walking cane in his hands.

"Go." Raven orders and the guard obeys, running as fast as he can towards the stairs.

After waiting a few moments Raven follows, slipping through the dark, empty corridors like a shadow. As he slips into one of the larger rooms, all the lights turn on.

Ravens eyes take a moment to adjust but when they do he has to bit his lip to keep from gasping.

All the Rogues, except Phoenix and Jay, are in this room. And all of them are held at gunpoint.

"So good to finally get a conversation with you." The Doctor greets.

Raven only glares at him.

The Doctor, the person Raven hates most in the world, is standing only ten feet away.

"Why don't we welcome your friend, she's just outside." The Doctors says silkily.

Two guards go to the door and escort Phoenix inside. Memories of what she just went through, of what happened to Jay, flood Ravens mind.

"Where's Jay?" Robin asks.

"She's dead." Phoenix's voice is raw and broken. Robin chokes back a sob and everyone else is deathly silent.

The Doctor clears his throat.

"Well now that we are all gathered together, let us chat."

-•-

"Well now that we are all gathered together, let us chat." The Doctor says.

"Yes let's talk," I respond. "Let's talk about how you planned for me to escape from the beginning. Let's talk about how not all of us were meant to escape in the first place. Let's talk about the spies you placed in our group."

The Doctor smiles.

"Very good and do you know who they are?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what has to happen next. You will return to my care, and I will continue to make you whole!" The Doctor says sweetly.

I slowly inch a dagger from my sleeve, a dagger I had managed to keep hidden despite being imprisoned, continuing to speak as I do so, so that all attention is away from my hands.

"No," I say. The Doctor glares at me.

"You don't want me to kill another one of your little friends, do you?" The Doctor snaps. I just look at him.

"How about instead I kill one of your friends." I murmur and he laughs. Then he see the dagger in my hand.

"And what, may I ask, will you be doing with that?" He asks. I smile slightly.

"Solidifying what happens next." I retort.

"And what happens next?" The Doctor snaps. He is getting impatient.

I turn and launch the dagger, it flies through the air and strikes my intended target in the chest. I just stand there as time slows, Robins scream fades away, the Doctors shouts turn to nothing.

All as Regina's body falls to the ground. A dagger buried in her chest.


End file.
